ART RenderDrive

[3dgeek]

Hey guys I have used VRay for some time now and absolutlety love it. I have also enjoyed this forum like no other. You guys (and gals) are amazing artists.

My question is not VRay related but rather in regards to the RenderDrive (RD5000) from ART Vps. Has anyone any experience with this "appliance"? Is there anyone who is USING it currently or has used it in production? I am looking to purchase one as a "renderfarm on my desk".

I get the feeling like I am not getting straight answers from the people I speak with at ART about the machine. It looks great and sounds great - but I would love someone with unbiased experince to let me know.

Let me just say, I am by no means replacing VRay!!!!!

Thanks for any help you guys can provide.

Chuck

[ezrhythm]

with the money you are about to spend on that thingy you better get few more PCs for you render farm and enjoy the power and speed of VRAY.

I went into specs, i even called those guys, i dont think its a good investment in my case... i bought 20 2.8 Prescotts for about 12.000$ and i make 5000 frame interior animations within 24hours... for exteriors - OVERNIGHT!.

[natty]

YEAH i totaly agree with ezrhythm... you can bye some serious hardware and make it better than the ART thingy

[sdesvb]

Yeh, I bought the PURE card from them and it was pure s%!£.
The rendering algorithm you have to use is too damn slow and GI is not supported! no matter what they say on their website.

I returned the card back and then they charged me a restocking fee even after proving to them that "it doesnt do what it says on the box"

Just stay away... its old technology just overpriced.

[gonzilla]

I've used it in the past. Best buy a pc renderfarm and vray. It's much more flexible. No doubt.

[3dgeek]

Thanks Allot!!

Thanks guys for the response and help with this. I figured it would be a good solution since I cannot get apporval for a rack and 20 1U nodes. Somehow it's not as big of a deal to buy 1 render "appliance" that sits on my desk for $25,000 as it is to buy 20 1U's for $20,000 that have to be set up and maintained. I thought it might enable me to have an "inconspicuous" render farm.

But I guess I will just have to look elsewhere and see what I can find.

Thanks again.

Chuck

[dlparisi]

$600 render box?

What kind of boxes did you get for $600 (memory, OS, MB, etc)? I'm not doubting you, I am just curious how vray is running on a $600 machine.

Thanks,

David

i bought 20 2.8 Prescotts for about 12.000$ and i make 5000 frame interior animations within 24hours... for exteriors - OVERNIGHT!.

[RErender]

Sounds doable 2.8+MB starts at $200, gig of memory = $95, OS = $150-$200, and HD = $50, and a case = 50$.

[ezrhythm]

p4 prescott, 2.8hz(1mb cache), 1gb ram, 1gbit network, 40gb hdd(just for xp)... is a bit expencive here, we are living on an island for god's sake

[pengo]

Could I ask how do u use vray with distributed render of one frame or u are talking only for multi frame render?

Please I want to know if someone get advantages from net-render on one frame render if yes how?
Is it possible to distribute the gi calculation?

It doesn't seem possible to calculate GI on more pc's

thanks in advance

[ezrhythm]

i think distributed GI will be available with 1.5... someone in this forum mentioned that already. I dont complain about speed anymore, but when this feature will be available, i'll be doing 3-4 animations a day

[pengo]

thanks ezrhythm

yes the 1.5 will have this capability but now I would like to know how have I use it to getter faster result on a frame render respect only one machine?


Thank u in advance

[ezrhythm]

yes, split every 2000 frames into projects, render GI every 20 frames... then u can merge vrmap files. or render project by project, whatever makes u feel better

[dlparisi]

Where can I get a gig of memory for $95? Also what MB?

I think a better breakdown is this:
p2.8 = $177, MB w/ graphics=$75, Mem = $160, OS (XP home?) = $80, HD = $50, CD-ROM = $10, Case = $50 == $602

Not a great system but probably fast enough for a farm.

David

[RErender]

Guess I am a better shopper :P anyways you hit the mark even with higher prices.